Mexico Golf Course Reviews
Quivira Golf Course ReviewCabo San Lucas, Mexico
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Quivira Golf Course Review Summary:
This golf course boasts some of the best views along with one of the most circuitous routings anywhere. There are many good holes and a few that, although a little gimmicky, are certainly very memorable. The location of the golf course is amazing and, at least at present, has long sections without any buildings nearby, which is a major plus to the very tranquil feel the golf course presents (at least while the golfer is not trying to hit a shot over one of the many hazards that are present along the way). The best golf holes are reviewed below:
Quivira Hole 1: The first drive of the day is fairly tight and going left on this hole near the beach is bad from tee to green. The green is also well guarded to the left by sand and the hole plays pretty long into the prevailing wind.
This golf course boasts some of the best views along with one of the most circuitous routings anywhere. There are many good holes and a few that, although a little gimmicky, are certainly very memorable. The location of the golf course is amazing and, at least at present, has long sections without any buildings nearby, which is a major plus to the very tranquil feel the golf course presents (at least while the golfer is not trying to hit a shot over one of the many hazards that are present along the way). The best golf holes are reviewed below:
Quivira Hole 1: The first drive of the day is fairly tight and going left on this hole near the beach is bad from tee to green. The green is also well guarded to the left by sand and the hole plays pretty long into the prevailing wind.
Quivira Hole 2: The second hole is a slight dogleg to the right with the typical Cabo desert looming both to the left and the right. The fairway is relatively generous and the left half of the green is wide open for a solid approach.
Quivira Hole 4: This short par four is drivable in the right wind conditions; however, the green is small and there are sand traps surrounding most of it, along with a false front, not to mention desert lining the whole right side. So, the easier play is to the very wide fairway with only a couple of bunkers to avoid, leaving a full wedge in to spin it.
Quivira Hole 5: This really long par five has a drive over a lake, but one that really isn't in play for a decent shot. The large bunker complex down the right side of the drive is the more real obstacle. The fairway then narrows considerably closer to the green with a green sporting two bunkers on the right side and slopes making getting up and down relatively tricky. Then, the player has to prepare themselves for the longest (and maybe best) cart ride in golf.
Quivira Hole 6 (left): The signature hole is truly one of a kind. First, the drive to the hole is at least five minutes up the hill, and that does not include any time spent at the refreshment station, complete with freshly cooked items and plenty of booze. Second, the hole is cut out of the side of the hill above the crashing waves of the Pacific, with the ultimate being the table top green right on the edge. This hole is a bit gimmicky as the tee shot can be played with a short iron or driver or anything in between, depending on the player's taste for risk and the unknown. However, it is truly a unique golf hole.
Quivira Hole 7 (below): The downhill par three seventh has a very nerve-wracking tee shot. With hillside right and the cliffs and Pacific left, there really is very little room for error. The green is narrow and deep and the views are, once again, spectacular.
Quivira Hole 7 (below): The downhill par three seventh has a very nerve-wracking tee shot. With hillside right and the cliffs and Pacific left, there really is very little room for error. The green is narrow and deep and the views are, once again, spectacular.
Quivira Hole 8: After the severity of the previous two holes, the eighth is a great change of pace and is a pleasant par four with good bunkering and use of the sand dunes lining the hole. The green complex is well devised, complete with tough-to-putt undulations and deep bunker to the left where most shots will want to roll towards.
Quivira Hole 9 The tee shot here must avoid lots of sand/desert short, left and right. If that can be negotiated, then there is a better chance of hitting the elevated green, which is also protected by a bunker in front/left. The green is also very wide with a tier separating the higher left third from the rest of the putting surface.
Quivira Hole 10: The opening hold to the back nine is a really beautiful par three. It is slightly downhill and long, with a tiered green and bunker to the right side, but the dunes are seamlessly integrated down the left side of this hole and this, combined with the desert backdrop really presents a solid and difficult hole.
Quivira Hole 11: This outstanding par five is a dogleg right that plays downhill. The drive can go straight out or can cut a piece of the corner, but getting that calculation right is key to avoid problems with the nearby desert. The rest of the hole goes downhill along a massive sand dune to the left. The green is very tricky and mostly runs away from the player, but features almost counterintuitive breaks in certain sections.
Quivira Hole 13: Another great par five, this one is one of a very few holes reminiscent of the scale of the famous number 18 at Kapalua Plantation Course, but in a desert setting. Starkly downhill, the drive can be played left of or over the bunker at the corner of the dogleg, depending on the wind and the distance of the player. From there the hole snakes its way downhill to the edge of the Pacific with a green that will be tough to hold from a long way out, but more receptive to a wedge played from the right side of the fairway. Back pins are hard, front pins are easy.
Quivira Hole 14: Movie buffs can tell you that this hole sits right above where the beach scenes from the movie Troy, starring Brad Pitt, were shot. Golfers will tell you that this is a very tough, although short tee shot, over the Pacific, with a fairly small green. The player can go left on the hillside, however, and the ball may find its way down to the green from time to time. There is no such benefit to going short, right or long.
Quivira Hole 16: The last par five of the day may also be the best scoring chance. The fairway is very wide and a big drive over the central bunker can go a long way. the green very well protected on the left, but if a shot can skirt by the bunkers 70 yards short and to the right of the hole, it can find it's way down near or onto the green, which tends to slope right to left, just like the rest of this hole.
Quivira Hole 17: The longest and most demanding hole is this downhill par four that plays in a valley. The fairway sits in a valley between two unforgiving hillsides and any tee shot that stays in the green grass will funnel down towards the middle of the fairway but missing the fairway will almost guarantee bogey or worse. Driver is needed, however, in order to leave a reasonable length approach to the green, which is pretty flat, but partially blind over a big bunker cut out of the hill, and a cool rock outcropping short of the green.
Quivira Hole 18: The new finishing hole has great views but the jury is out on it's strategic merit. it is a relatively short dogleg right over a truly massive waste bunker. Frankly, I think this hole might get better over time as the sand should settle, but until it does, the player must stay left unless they can bomb it 300+ right at the green. The smart play will leave them a shot to a narrow, three-tiered green over twin bunkers. Front pins should be attacked and anything left of center should be given due respect.
